The quest to close down alternative information websites

It is disappointing that the BBC is not on the list of fake news sites. I have recently put out the link of the blog criticising their Panorama programme: `Saving Syria`s children` exposing the fact that it was a staged event. But it is worth pointing to it again given this recent extraordinarily arrogant article.

https://bbcpanoramasavingsyriaschildren.wordpress.com/
 
However, I see a few sites there that provide serious alternative news: 21st CenturyWire and NaturalNews* being two of them which I sometimes source.

I have just taken a copy of the rest of the sites on the `hit list` because if the mainstream are worried about them they must be `on to something` at least some of the time.

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*NaturalNews cover topics like GM food and vaccination damage.

Missing children

Unaccompanied children; the saga continues.

http://www.ukcolumn.org/

Mike Robinson from UK Column News stated that: "This is a new report that`s come out today. Now it`s discussing child trafficking victims and it`s also discussing unaccompanied children. So what they`re saying is that in one year thirty percent of all UK child trafficking victims in the care system and 13 percent of unaccompanied children in the care system disappeared."

"Now this is the report: Heading back to harm. They`re basically saying that trafficked and unaccompanied asylum-seeing children are going missing from UK care at an alarmingly high rate. This is how they`re describing it. This is from an NGO called ECPAT UK  in collaboration with a charity called Missing People..."

From the document:

"Through this year-long study, ECPAT UK and Missing People have discovered that an alarmingly high number of both unaccompanied asylum seeking children and children who may have been trafficked go missing from care. Many have not been found. Local authorities with responsibility for the care of these children are frequently not able to report how many unaccompanied and trafficked children are in their care, and many failed to identify any child trafficking victims..."

"Heading back to harm reveals that, from September 2014 to September 2015, 28% of trafficked children (167 children) in care and 13% of unaccompanied children (593 children) in care went missing at least once. Of these, 207 missing trafficked or unaccompanied children had not been found."

http://cdn.basw.co.uk/upload/basw_54956-6.pdf

Brian Gerrish explained that this tied in with what the Metropolitan police whistleblower said. "Because in his testimony he said that when he investigated children`s homes, he found that in a matter of days a large number of children were going missing. The children`s homes knew it; the local authorities knew it; the child protection teams knew it and the police and the MPs knew it. Instead of investigating he was threatened and warned off and told to keep his mouth shut. So what we`re seeing is the real facts about the numbers of children, thousands of children, tens of thousands of children; over the years hundreds of thousands of children abused in the care system. We don`t have a champion at all. Nobody`s standing up in Westminster."
 

This is a national scandal that has been going on for decades with British children as well as children now being brought into the country.
 

Mike Robinson continued: "So let`s just remind ourselves from last month: Amber Rudd, the home secretary, at the time of the closing of the camp in Calais saying: `We have about 100 [unaccompanied children] in train who we hope to bring over in the next few weeks but on top of that I`ve made it clear that we will take children from the Dubs agreement`. Now these new children that are coming in - this report that we`re talking about is covering the period 2014 to 2015 - so in fact if we look at the children they were talking about in that report; they`re saying that child trafficking victims who vanished from care were mainly from countries like Vietnam, Albania and the UK and the unaccompanied children who went missing from care are from places like Afghanistan ... Albania and Vietnam. So we haven`t even got the statistics yet for any Syrian or children related to the Syrian conflict or Libya and this kind of thing."
 

"If you remember last month Stella Creasy saying: `Bringing here every child who has a legal right to be in the United Kingdom would be a really good result.` Well it doesn`t seem to be a really good result for quite a lot of them. And just remember the original MP who was pushing for this: Tim Farron... And if you remember back in October I highlighted this organisation Help Refugees who were absolutely campaigning for unaccompanied children from Calais to be brought over here. Now I asked them about this issue of children disappearing from care and this is what they had to say:"

"Thank you for your email and for your concern. The Dubs transfers are being carried out by the Home Office, who will be working with the Red Cross to ensure the protection of those children."

"We are currently in talks with Refugee Action. We will be collaborating on ensuring that those children brought to the UK are secure, cared for and that their best interests are observed. We are fully aware of the risks of child trafficking within the UK, however, the risks of trafficking within refugee camps across Europe and the world are exponentially high. Naturally, comparisons are difficult to draw."

"We feel that for those particularly vulnerable children who qualify under the Dubs Amendment and for whom a best interests assessment recommends their transfer to the UK, should be brought into the British care system."

"Well the big lie of course Mike is there is no care system because what we are seeing is wholesale abuse of children within that system. So they`re bringing these children in; they cannot guarantee the safety of children in Britain and Tim Farron was happy to say in an email that yes out of the 300 missing Syrian children... it was inevitable there would have been some trafficked and abused. I understand that today Mr Farron is pushing out emails about flood defences. So he`s not the slightest bit bothered about child abuse. He`s getting a little bit worried because we`re heading for the rain... season."
 

Returning to the subject of missing children: "So we still have to wait for the statistics about that - if they ever appear."
 

UK Column then commented on the fact that government does not collect the data on what happens to children who go missing from care.
 

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The news ended with a look at media manipulation with particular reference to the BBC Panorama programme Saving Syria`s children.

"On 29 August 2013, as the UK House of Commons vote on possible military intervention in Syria was underway, BBC News at Ten broadcast a report by Ian Pannell and cameraman Darren Conway which claimed that a Syrian fighter jet had dropped an incendiary bomb containing a `napalm-type` substance – possibly thermite – on the playground of an Aleppo school."

The blog examines the evidence and comes to the conclusion that this was a staged event. 

Read more https://bbcpanoramasavingsyriaschildren.wordpress.com/

Update on the Docherty appeal

From Brian Gerrish (UK Column 14 November 2016))

"Just a brief update on the Dochertys. I`m going to say thank you very much for your support. We`ve still got donations for Brian and Janice coming in."

"We`ve had a number of events happening over the weekend that have been quite difficult to handle. I`ll just say to people please remember that at the moment Brian and Janice are effectively isolated in what is a very hostile environment in Ireland and we have to go at the speed we can with the communications that we have and sometimes those communications can be very intermittent. So we`re waiting for an update ourselves at the moment.

As soon as we get that update we will of course pass it on to all of you who have been clearly very concerned about what is happening to this couple.

But what I will say as a final comment is that the sheer viciousness... turned against them from both the Scottish state and also in Ireland is clearly another indicator that whatever they touched upon in Scotland.... literally turned into a nightmare. So we`ve got to say, based on this, let alone all the other evidence, the respective states in London, Scotland and Ireland are terrified of this couple and the fact that they`ve dared to speak out.

http://www.ukcolumn.org/

Scottish Government to pay NO2NP legal costs

"TAXPAYERS face a £500,000 bill after the SNP’s controversial Named Person scheme suffered its latest court setback."

"Five judges – who this year ruled that the scheme is a breach of human rights – have ordered the Scottish Government to pay the legal costs of those who challenged the bill."

"Members of the No to Named Person (NO2NP) campaign group racked up fees of around £250,000 fighting the plans."

"The Government’s own bill for defending the case is expected to take the total to more than £500,000."

"NO2NP spokesman Simon Calvert said: "We estimate the Scottish Government may be liable for up to £500,000 legal costs."

"`This is wasting taxpayers’ money on a scheme that has been declared unlawful, a breach of the human rights of families, outside the competence of the Scottish Parliament and not fit for purpose`..."

"`Had the judges agreed with the Government spin – that they basically won the case and just had to make a few tweaks to the Named Person law – the court would not have awarded us our costs`."

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/taxpayers-facing-500000-bill-snps-9249272#ICID=sharebar_twitter

It`s not that the Scottish Government wasn`t forewarned.

Read more here http://www.christian.org.uk/scot-gov-legal-advisor-prevented-lengthy-named-person-battle/?hp

Eight rural forces continue to hood detainees

"Provincial police forces are under pressure to stop hooding detainees after it emerged that the practice has been used hundreds of times despite being banned by Britain’s biggest police forces."

"Official figures obtained by the Guardian show that spit hoods have been used 513 times since last year by a handful of provincial police forces."

"The practice of placing a tightly meshed hood over a suspect’s head has been criticised as breaching human rights law and investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in at least two high-profile cases this year."

"Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that eight rural forces continue to use the practice – including on children as young as 13 – despite it not being sanctioned by police chiefs at the biggest forces, including the Metropolitan police, West Midlands police and Greater Manchester police."

"A 13-year-old schoolboy and a 14-year-old schoolgirl were among detainees hooded by police officers in Northamptonshire last year, the figures show, while a 70-year-old man was placed in a spit hood by North Wales police..."

"British Transport police have hooded detainees in 151 cases since June 2014, when the force authorised the practice."

 

"The force is under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission after it used a spit hood on a young black man who was pinned to the floor by four officers at London Bridge station in July."

"Footage filmed by witnesses showed officers holding IK Aihie, 20, to the floor with his hands behind his back and a spit hood over his head.  His girlfriend, Jessica McConkey, can be seen in distress in the clip while others plead with the officers: `What the hell are you doing?` and `Stop that`."

"IPCC investigators met Aihie this month to confirm they had launched an investigation into his arrest on 21 July. Aihie said: `I hope there will now be a thorough investigation and I would ask any witnesses to my arrest to please contact the IPCC`."

http://www.banglamirrornews.com/author/admin_uk/

Robots in class: a threat to teachers ?

"Numerous types of robots are being incorporated in education. They range from simple `microprocessor on wheels` robots (boebot), to advanced toolkits, (mindstorms) to humanoids (robots that resemble humans)."

"The choice of the robot is usually dictated by the area of study and the age group of the student."

"Smaller robots or toolkits are particularly used to teach robotics or computer science. These toolkits can be physically manipulated allowing students to learn a variety of disciplines across engineering. However, the human-like shape of humanoids makes them easier to interact with, and for this reason are often used for language lessons."

"Humanoids have the ability to provide real-time feedback, and their physical shape increases engagement. This often leads to a personal connection with the student, which research shows can help resolve issues related to shyness, reluctance, confidence and frustration that may arise in dealing with a human teacher. For example, a robot will not get tired no matter how many mistakes a child makes."

"Humanoid robots are being widely utilised in classrooms in many countries including, Japan and South Korea."

https://theconversation.com/robots-likely-to-be-used-in-classrooms-as-learning-tools-not-teachers-66681

Westminster suffers two defeats

"The government was defeated twice in the Supreme Court over the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ on Wednesday 9 November. The Spare Room Subsidy has been in force since 1 April 2013. People in the social rented sector deemed to have one spare bedroom have had their housing benefit reduced by 14%. And people with two or more spare bedrooms have seen a reduction of 25%. Critics argue that the bedroom tax discriminates against disabled people, single mothers, and those with carers..."

No privatisation of children’s services

"As The Canary previously reported, the Conservative government has been trying to push the child and social work bill through the House of Lords. Critics argue if the Tories passed the bill as law it would mean a `bonfire` of children’s rights. The bill would
allow local authorities to opt-out of national child laws in order to find better ways of working. But critics argued it would mean a postcode lottery of services and that it would open up children’s services to privatisation."

"On Tuesday 8 November, the House of Lords voted down this part of the bill. The section would have originally allowed local authorities to opt out of national law for three years. They could then apply for an extension from the government for another three. And with companies like G4S already pushing to take over children’s services, the prospect of privatisation was very real."

"But peers were not convinced the bill should let national children’s laws be stripped away. The House of Lords voted 245-213 in favour of scrapping the clause in its entirety. The government, however, may well re-insert the clause when the bill moves to the House of Commons. This could create what’s known as ‘ping-pong‘ between the two houses. So it may not be the end of the story..."

http://www.thecanary.co/2016/11/09/everyones-looking-trump-theresa-may-just-suffered-humilating-defeats/

`Safe Spaces` for stressed students

"Colleges and universities nationwide are establishing `safe spaces` for students troubled by the results of the 2016 presidential election, offering everything from counseling hours to painting activities."

"St. Mary’s university has embraced the trend of colleges shielding students from the presidential election, offering a safe space with `warm drinks` and `nourishment` for students who are stressed by results."

"Ete Martinez Anderson, the assistant dean of Student Life, sent a school-wide email encouraging students to `take a deep breath` and console each other in the Intercultural Center (ICC) and the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)."

"`Whether you’re celebrating a victory or grieving a loss, let us remember to take care of each other,` Martinez Anderson wrote, informing students that they could come to the WRC to `paint, engage in creative projects, dialogue, and reflect`."

http://www.blacklistednews.com/%27Safe_spaces%27_abound_for_students_in_%27emotional_crisis%27_over_Trump/55216/0/38/38/Y/M.html

This reminds me of the tears and protestations of young people performing in front of the camera after the Brexit result, most of whom did not bother to vote in the referendum, although overall there had been a good turn out.

In the states 49 per cent of the electorate did not vote and it is easy to imagine that there would have been many students in that percentage.

It does make you wonder what use social and emotional learning is in the curriculum when students can grow up to be so contrary and lacking in backbone.

Or maybe it would be better to focus attention on who is winding up these students and why.

 

 

Gender identity lessons

Here`s how to create problems where none existed:

"NICOLA Sturgeon's government and the EU is paying for children age two and up to be given lessons on sexuality and whether they want to identify as being boys, girls or gender neutral."

"And they are paying for the roll out of a programme which allows a 'research artist' who works with children from two up as well as policy makers to encourage infants to talk about sex."

"The shocking project, funded by the Scottish Government and the EU, throws the spotlight on the SNP's questionable education record after they were heavily criticised for attainment in schools."

"Horrifyingly the ‘Gendersaurus Rex’ concept - which is promoted and paid for by the taxpayer through the Imaginate Creative Project - asks: "How do we talk about queerness outside of sexuality?"

"How do we talk about sexuality and children in the same breath without being accused of summoning the spectre of paedophilia?"

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/730924/Nicola-Sturgeon-SNP-government-funds-sex-education-for-two-year-olds

Well you can`t.

The debt crises

"Mainstream economists failed to anticipate the crisis, not because it was an unpredictable `Black Swan`, but because false pre-determined beliefs meant they ignored the cause of the crisis: banks lending too much money to finance speculation rather than investment."

So says Professor Keen who successfully predicted the crisis. Millions of young Americans are getting themselves into student debt in what seems like a hopeless cause.

 The following article is from the Guardian (2011) but it is still relevant today:

 "Western Europeans and Americans are about to suffer a profound shock. For the past 30 years governments have explained that, while they can no longer protect jobs through traditional forms of state intervention such as subsidies and tariffs, they can expand and reform education to maximise opportunity. If enough people buckle down to acquiring higher-level skills and qualifications, Europeans and Americans will continue to enjoy rising living standards. If they work hard enough, each generation can still do better than its parents. All that is required is to bring schools up to scratch and persuade universities to teach `marketable` skills... "

"But the financial meltdown of 2008 and the subsequent squeeze on incomes is slowly revealing an awful truth. As figures out last week from the Office for National Statistics show, real UK wages have not risen since 2005, the longest sustained freeze in living standards since the 1920s. While it has not hit the elite in banking, the freeze affects most of the middle class as much as the working class. This is not a blip, nor the result of educational shortcomings. In the US, which introduced mass higher education long before Britain, the average graduate's purchasing power has barely risen in 30 years. Just as education failed to deliver social democratic promises of social equality and mobility, so it will fail to deliver neoliberal promises of universal opportunity for betterment..."

"We are familiar with the outsourcing of routine white-collar `back office` jobs such as data inputting. But now the middle office is going too. Analysing X-rays, drawing up legal contracts, processing tax returns, researching bank clients, and even designing industrial systems are examples of skilled jobs going offshore. Even teaching is not immune: last year a north London primary school hired mathematicians in India to provide one-to-one tutoring over the internet. Microsoft, Siemens, General Motors and Philips are among big firms that now do at least some of their research in China. The pace will quicken. The export of `knowledge work` requires only the transmission of electronic information, not factories and machinery. Alan Blinder, a former vice-chairman of the US Federal Reserve, has estimated that a quarter of all American service sector jobs could go overseas..."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/feb/28/education-jobs-middle-class-decline

It will be interesting to see if Donald Trump keeps his word and sets about getting America back to work rebuilding its crumbling infrastructure.